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’NAB gets Axa-ed, and AMP-ed, Down Under
At long last. The interminable — and fiendishly complicated — saga of the battle for Axa Asia Pacific Holdings (Axa APH) is approaching a finale. Or so it seems.
As Reuters reports on Monday:
Australian wealth manager AMP and French insurer AXA SA launched a new $13.1bn-plus bid for AXA Asia Pacific,
Xstrata’s iron-ore ambitions
A little bit of takeover tussle Down Under highlights the long-held ambitions of Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata to add iron ore to its coal and metals-focused businesses.
Not only that, Xstrata’s hot pursuit
Rates on the rise in Asia
It’s central bank action month, or at least, central bankers are grabbing the limelight – even as government leaders and policy makers from around the world prepare to discuss ‘currency wars’ and other issues at the G20 and Apec gatherings later this month.
Mining taxes, yen rates — or, when politics matter
The uglier – and in some cases, the more ridiculous – a country’s politics become, the more serious become some of the issues.
At least, that would seem to be the lessons from Australia and also Japan,
Macquarie Bank: desperately seeking swagger
That old affluent sparkle seems rapidly to be wearing off Australia’s once seemingly teflon-coated Macquarie Bank – especially after the unthinkable happened and MacBank, once dubbed the “millionaires’ factory”
Debacle Down Under: Winners and losers — so far
In every debacle, financial or political, there are those who come out smiling.
In the case of Australia’s weekend election shambles, resources stocks – big and small – are zooming, and punters who shorted the Aussie dollar are undoubtedly laughing in glee.
Baseled and interBank
Is this the first rumbling of an unintended consequence in Basel III?
The Basel Committee released its watered-down vision of a new era in bank regulation, complete with liquidity buffers and leverage ratios,
G’day, Gillard — not
London’s miners were in a fug on the FTSE 100 on Thursday:
And it’s because Australia’s proposed mining super-tax — unlike the prime minister who launched it — appears to be sticking round.
Kevin Rudd resigned on Thursday — but his successor,
Political risk, Aussie rules
Those are the London shares of Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Xstrata.
They all shot up despite a negative FTSE 100 at about 1300 UK BST on Wednesday — probably as this flash broke via Reuters:
RTRS-AUSTRALIA PM FACES LEADERSHIP VOTE ON THURSDAY MORNING – SKY TV
The link being:
Mining super-tax rage (Part II): The dark and the light side
Continued from Part I: Xstrata on warpath.
Amid the howls of pain from miners over Australia’s proposed 40 per cent resources ‘super profits’ tax — the latest manifestation being Thursday’s outburst from Xstrata’s combative CEO Mick Davis — come some more sobering figures.
The not so horrid Henry Tax
Mining stocks led Wednesday’s dead cat bounce in London:
And one reason was a report that claimed the Rudd government in Australia was set to perform something of a u-turn on its proposed mining supertax.
Miners spend big Down Under, but where’s the outrage?
Amid all the mining industry outrage Down Under about Canberra’s plan to slap a 40 per cent “super profits tax” on resources companies, one is almost tempted to side with the Australian Treasurer, Wayne Swan.
The horrid Henry Tax
Messy, complicated, confusing and ultimately damaging for investment in mining down under.
That’s reaction in the City of London to the Australian government’s plan for a 40 per cent tax on profits generated by resource companies (the so-called Henry Tax),
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- Reserve Bank of Australia’s Stevens raises key interest rate to 4.25 per cent – statement.
- NYSE’s European dark pool Says Q1 trading surges – Bloomberg.
Banking bubble (charts)
Warning: this post contains a bubble chart.
Citi’s European banks research team has come up with a fresh take on earnings and valuation bubbles across major markets.
Analysts led by Ronit Ghose compared the market value of banks to the size of the economies in which they are based – a measure dubbed ”penetration”.
Now the Australians are worried about US CRE
We admit it: we’re somewhat obsessed with commercial real estate here on FT Alphaville – but not without good reason.
So we were reassured to note that the topic of US commercial real estate is also preoccupying Guy Debelle,
Australia ends bank deposit guarantees
While Europe stresses about a potential Greek meltdown and contagion crisis, things are looking pretty good from the perspective of Down Under.
Fresh from its surprise decision to hold interest rates last week,
Whoops!
This video (purportedly) shows a Macquarie Bank worker caught assessing certain non-bank assets, while his colleague talks Australian interest rates with 7 News:
Trivia of the Day: That’s reportedly Australian model Miranda Kerr he’s looking at.
The RBA’s ‘shocker’ Down Under
Australia’s central bankers had a bit of fun on Tuesday, confounding economists, shocking markets and driving down the Aussie dollar to its lowest level in six weeks by unexpectedly holding the country’s benchmark interest rate at 3.75 per cent,
What does the Aussie mining tax really mean?
Mining stocks were among the biggest fallers in Thursday’s sell-off. One of the factors driving the sector lower was news of a new mining tax being proposed by Australian Treasury Secretary, Ken Henry.
Tiger Airways burning bright…
Meet Tiger Airways, a Singapore-based budget carrier set up in 2004 to serve the Australasian market.
Read Tiger Airways IPO prospectus, filed today, Tuesday, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Australia: She’ll be right, mate
Trust the Aussies to implement one of the most newsworthy yet widely expected interest rate hikes around. The Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point for an unprecedented third straight month,
Australia raises rates – again
Australia’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point for an unprecedented third straight month amid mounting evidence of a strengthening economy, reports Bloomberg.
Australia raises rates, again
Australia on Tuesday raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point for the second time in four weeks, becoming the first nation to increase borrowing costs twice this year as the global economy recovers,
Reading the RBA minutes
Want more detail on the decision of Australia’s central bank to hike interest rates?
The move made Australia the first G20 nation to raise rates since the peak of the financial crisis, and prompted much talk of a global economic recovery.
Greenback down, Aussie up
The Aussie dollar — already the power currency of the season — rose further to a 14-month high on Thursday after unusually clear indications from the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Glenn Stevens,
Australian rate rise boosts gold
Gold prices hit a record high and stocks rallied after Australia’s surprise interest rate rise on Tuesday boosted confidence in a global recovery. Australia stunned the markets, becoming the first G20 country to raise rates in more than a year by lifting the key rate 25bp to 3.25% and driving the Australian dollar to a 14-month high of $0.899.
What Australia’s rate hike means for the market
Australia on Tuesday became the first G20 nation to raise interest rates since the peak of the financial crisis, as its central bank increased the official cash rate from 3 per cent to 3.25 per cent. (Israel,
Rio employee held on suspicion of spying
Chinese officials have detained Stern Hu, Rio Tinto’s head of marketing and sales in China and an Australian citizen, on suspicion of espionage and stealing state secrets, a move that could stoke tension between the two countries,